How Superior Coach Co. school buses move children safely to and from school, told through the experience of Mickey Miller, who is just a bit too young to ride the bus to school and yearns to do so. Dramatic film in Ektachrome which uses closeups well. School bus driver: John Butler (police chief of Mansfield, Ohio, where this film was produced).


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Safety Enterprises Corporation
Sponsor: Superior Coach Corporation
Audio/Visual: Sd, C
Keywords: Children: Psychology; Transportation: Buses: School buses; Safety: School buses

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: GE_Pretzel - - May 19, 2006
Subject: A sedative masquerading as a bus safety film
There are few films that can surpass or even equal the mediocrity of Special Delivery, a horrendously cumbersome safety film for schoolbus operators that fails to captivate. Instead of simply attempting to discuss the fundamentals of schoolbus safety and procedure in a concise, forthright manner, the film's creators place the necessary educational elements within a dry, unengaging story involving Mickey Miller, a recalcitrant little boy who has developed a strong distrust of the local schoolbus and its driver, Bill Marshall. It appears that Mickey has been reading far too many James Fenimore Cooper novels, as he wears a feathered headdress and continually shoots toy arrows at the schoolbus, a vehicle that he refers to as the "white man's stagecoach." Mickey is miffed when he isn't allowed to board the bus because of his age, but shortly after he reaches "age more than five," he and his older sister Millie are taken on a special bus ride by Bill in an effort to gain the young boy's respect. After a mishmash of schoolbus operation information is conveyed during the trip, Mickey alters his attitude and begins to take well to Bill. At the end of the film, however, Bill humiliates a diminutive boy who isn't allowed to ride the bus by calling him "Shorty" right in front of all of the other children. If Bill is striving to establish a rapport with his future passengers, he certainly isn't doing a good job. This lengthy production is quite a chore to watch.

It should be a crime to wear garish horn-rimmed glasses like the ones Millie sports throughout the film.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - June 14, 2005
Subject: All aboard the White Man's Wagon!
Somewhat depressing film which is all about a boy named Mickey, and how he wants so desperately to ride the 'White Man's Wagon cough *Rosa Parks* excuse me, now where was I? Oh right, but he can't because he's too young! Well, a year whizzes past, and now he can! Problem is, he doesnt trust that bus driver who through all of last year, wouldnt let him on. So, in a brilliant idea I'm sure, the bus driver picks up Mickey and his sister at the crack of dawn to pick up his bus, do safety checks and then pick up everyone, and reverse the process after school. Just the look of his sister 'Millie' all throughout the film will tell you how thrilled she was to do this, or heck, to be in this film to begin with, as she sounds interably bored throughout.

Reviewer: dynayellow - - September 18, 2003
Subject: Hey, I grew up in Mansfield, Ohio
What a loopy little journey aboard the school bus!

Little Mikey dresses like and Injun and wants to ride the big bus, but he's too young. So he decides that it's the "white man's stagecoach" and that he'll never ride it (even though he does, at the first day of school next year). Then the kindly bus driver decides to take him along for a day's work on the bus in this very strange film.

Not sure who this was targeted to: bus safety seems to be the main topic, from touching on safe behavior on the bus, to the training bus drivers go through, to the safe manufacture of the bus. Viewers are advised not to skimp on their buses, so perhaps it was for appropriations boards.

The really weird part is that it's a full NINE MINUTES before we get to any of this. Up till then it's just little Mikey's psychosis. Closes with a shot of a little kid crying. Odd.

In closing, Lexington sucks! Mansfield Senior High Tygers RULE!

Reviewer: Steve Nordby - - September 11, 2003
Subject: Boring industrial film screaming with sub-text
All the children are special to bus driver Bill. But he wants to keep his job, so patience is his weapon. Next year they will be a little older, and for 5-year-old Mickey Miller, it will be the start of a great adventure. The first day of school is a new, worthwhile challenge with eager children. But a wise man can distinguish fact from fancy, and although Bill fancies Mickey, Mickey is ambivalent about Bill. So Bill rings the door to get Mickey out of bed, take him for a ride in his car, and make him behave. "What was this all about," Mickey thinks. Bill's opportunity had come! What a nice bus you have! Mickey enjoys being around buses. Maybe someday he'll get to be "patrol boy"! In emergencies,the rear door is "desirable". And remember to use protection.

Shotlist

School bus movie starring Mansfield, Ohio police chief John Butler as the school bus driver. Produced in and around Mansfield, Ohio.

How Superior Coach Co. school buses move children safely to and from school. Dramatic film with great creepy closeups.

Young boy (Mickey Miller, almost 5) with Indian headdress running behind hedge, taking cover (ÒIndianÓ music theme as in Western movies), running to frighten other kids waiting for school bus (good Indian costume sequence)
Older girls mock him, Òalways dressed like Injun JoeÓ
Mickey wants to ride bus, but he is too young to go to school
Good CUs of teenage and preteen girls, early-60s style
MS kids climb onto bus, Mickey too but is elected
CU school bus driverÕs face looking concerned
CU Mickey stringing arrow onto bow, shooting suction-cup arrow at bus (good)
POV shot out of vehicle driving by suburban houses (good)
VS kids getting on bus (good)
Bus on road in rural area
CU driver (low-angle) while driving (good)
VS driverÕs face while driving (good)
CU MickeyÕs reflection in cap hubcap while he applies warpaint on his face (good)
High-angle shot of yellow school bus pulling into parking lot
MS safety patrol boy helps guides kids out of bus
CU kidsÕ feet on steps of school bus as they disembark (good)
Whole lot of kids departing is shown in full (good Ð kind of conceptual)
Bus driver adds MickeyÕs arrow to a group rubber-banded on back of his sunvisor
VS kids entering school building as bell rings
CU Mickey with headdress on washing his face in basin
VO: ÒMickey says he wonÕt go to school on the white manÕs stagecoachÓ
Mother VO: Òwell, I wonÕt drive himÓ
GS kids climbing onto school bus Ð farm background
CU bus driver smiling at Mickey (good)
CU sullen-faced Mickey getting onto bus
CU finger pushing white button (doorbell)
CU bus driver ÒOpen it up, MickeyÓ (good)
CU Mickey opening up wrapped present (unwrapping), pulling out Indian bead necklace and putting it on around his neck
CU Mickey whispering into sisterÕs ear
Bus driver, teen girl and Mickey walk down steps and get into convertible
CU MickeyÕs fingers fingering necklace
VS school buses parked in lot (pan around lot showing many buses) (good)
Mickey runs onto bus, inspecting it with joy, sitting in driverÕs seat and twisting steering wheel
CU Mickey raises hand in Indian greeting: ÒHow?Ó
CU hands checking warning light switches
CU headlights turning on into camera, then off again
CU hands on dashboard instruments
CU black shoe on accelerator pedal
CU tire moving, then stops (brake test)
CU girl: ÒOK, Mr. MarshallÓ (good)
VO: ÒIs that all right, Mr. Marshall?Ó (good)
VS bus driving along Midwestern rural/industrial streets
CU bus driverÕs face (nose and mouth only) with countryside passing by
CU bus driver speaking into public address mike
CU POV from driverÕs seat as they approach railroad crossing
Safety patrol boy gets off bus, checks for trains before proceeding
Driver speaks to patrol boy through PA system
Views up and down RR track
Car passing bus on left as bus pulls over to let it pass
VS POVs out of driverÕs window
School bus flashes red lights as children walk towards it
Safety patrol girl gets into middle of road with STOP flag to stop traffic
MS kids riding on bus, yawning (documentary-style shot) (good)
MickeyÕs sister makes him sit down when he stands up others
MS kids exiting bus
Safety patrol boy and girl practice exit drill out rear emergency exit
VS Ohio State Highway Patrol officer inspects buses for safety
CU officer affixing safety inspection sticker to bus windshield
CU model of school bus showing body frame construction (protective armor shell)
Film argues that quality sacrifices for lower prices are unwise
Aerial of school bus driving along rural road (good)
CU Mickey riding on bus, looking out of window, touching it with finger
LS school bus driving down curved road while honking car passes bus too fast
CU steady-minded bus driverÕs face while driving (good)
CU rearview mirror showing cars backed up behind schoolbus
Driver pulls over to let other cars pass, then pulls out into road again
Millie: ÒThank you for taking Mickey and me with you, Mr. Marshall.Ó
CU Mickey hiding his headdress, bow and arrow in the bushes Ð he doesnÕt need to be a warrior any longer
Kids walking past camera on way into bus (good)
Kids climbing onto us
CU smiling Mickey (at driver) saying ÒHi!Ó (good)
MS line of girls and boys at corner waiting for bus as it pulls up, then getting on (good)
CU youngster trying to get on bus, just as Mickey did
CU boy hangs his head crestfallen Ð he swallows, maybe sobs, because he wants to go to school
(end)



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